Photographic-printing machine



G. PONTAYNE. PHOTOGRAPHIG PRINTING.

No. 25,540. Patented Sept. 20, 1859.

CHARLES FONTAYNE, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

PHOTOGRAPHIC-PR-INTING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 25,540, dated September 20, 1859.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES Forzriirxn, of the city of Cincinnati,Hamilton county, Ohio, have invented a new and useful Machine for RapidPhotographic Printing, of which the following specification contains afull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which like figures represent like parts of myinvention.

Photographic impressions are commonly printed in two ways. First, theprepared material is exposed to light until the impression is fullymade; or, second, it is so exposed until an invisible or latentimpression has been made which is afterward fully revealed to the eye ordeveloped by chemical means. I shall call the first method Printing bythe direct action of light, the second method, Printing by development.

Printing by direct action of light, by the method in use before myinvention is com paratively a very slow process, requiring considerabletime to perform the necessary manipulations, such as the removal andreplacing of the negative or glass matrix, the adjustment of springs andother portions of the apparatus, and the length of time required toobtain a good impression, varying as it does from five to twenty minutesof strong sun-light. There is also a waste of marginal material, and awant of uniformity in the results as the judgment of the operator is theonly guide as to the length of time to be allowed for each exposure.

Printing by development, is not much practiced, because of the greatdifficulty in determining the proper length of time for exposure. Inthis process the action of light is usually very rapid, and there isnothing very definite, by which the eye can fully determine the properduration of the printing process. here very sensitive surfaces are usedin photographic processes, their expo sure by hand to the light, forperiods of time varying from seconds to halves, quarters or eighths ofseconds, is difiicult if not impos sible; and yet, to surfaces of thischaracter, these divisions of time bear the same relation that ten,five, two and a half or one and a quarter minutes, do, to less sensitivematerials used in slower processes, and the one must be as accuratelymeasured as the other to secure a successful result in the practice ofthe photographic art.

For the purpose of obviating these, and many other difliculties notmentioned; the accurate movements of machinery combined with the knownand applied principles of optics, have been substituted, in myinvention, for the uncertain process of hand printing; and the result isthe production of photographic pictures with a certainty and a rapidityhitherto unknown.

In general terms, my invention consists in confining, in a dark chamber,or space, or camera obscura, the photographic material prepared toreceive the impressions, and causing, by mechanical means, every part ofits surface to traverse an aperture through which the light orphotographic impression is received, this light being admitted and shutoff by a perforated, straight, sliding, or circular revolving disk,which passes over another disk having a similar opening, and whoserebound or momentum is overcome by spring checks, this moving disk beingso constructed as always to move at a uniform ate, which rate can bemade faster or slower by means of springs, as desired. A condensing lensor lenses, is applied, when required to increase or diminish theintensity or quantity of light required to produce the pictures withcertainty or rapidity.

In the drawings, Figure A is a general, longitudinal, sectional view ofthe instrument showing all its parts as arranged for photographicprinting, or taking photographic impressions, either larger or smallerthan the negative employed. The tube containing the condensing lens isextended, and the bed (upon which rests the sliding or revolving diskfor admitting and shutting off the light,) with the lenses attached toit, is elevated for the purpose of obtaining the proper distance betweenthe sensitive mate rial upon which the impression is to be made, and thelenses which are used for producing pictures differing in dimensionsfrom the negative used as a matrix. Fig. B, is a sectional view of thetubes arranged for printing pictures the same size as the negative,which is now brought in close contact with the sensitive material duringtheir exposure to the light. To effect this the bed with the sliding orrevolving disk is lowered, until it rests upon or near the boxcontaining the sensitive material. The lenses and tube at tached to thisbed, are removed, leaving only the larger tubes containing thecondensing lens. Fig. D, exhibits the bed upon which is placed therevolving or sliding disk by which the light is admitted and shut off.Fig. F, represents a straight sliding disk for the same purpose. Fig. C,is an end View of the box 1, showing the lever and ratchet by which theroller upon which the sensitive material is placed, is moved, togetherwith the lever for bringing the glass negative in close contact with thesensitive material. Fig. E, represents the inside of the top of the box1, arranged with springs and bed to hold, slots to shift and lever androd to press the glass negative from which impressions are taken.

In Fig. A, 1, 1, 1, 1, is a box so made as to exclude all light, andopening below its center upon hinges (23 and 24 Fig. C). Over the middleof this box the center of the tube 2, 2, is placed, the two beingattached by the hooks and pins shown in Fig. B, 35 and 36. In this tubeis a longitudinal opening to permit the arm 93 of the bed 4 to slide upand down, the portion of the opening not occupied by the arm beingclosed by two wedges 94, 95 or by other means, so as to exclude light. 3is a second tube sliding in 2 and carrying a condensing lens 33 and theglass negative picture 34. 4 is the bed carrying the sliding orrevolving disk (Figs. D, and F) which admits and shuts off the light. 5,5, is a roller covered by some soft material, upon which is placed thesensitive substance which is to receive the impressions, which must beattached to it by some suitable fastening. The surface of the roller maybe circular, if the negative is so small that by pressure both surfacescan be brought fully in contact, if not then the roller must be a prismof any number of sides of suitable size. Its length should not vary muchfrom one half of the length of the inside of the box 1. 6, 6, 6, is ahollow iron shaft revolving on the journals 10, 10, slotted as at 7, 7,for half of its length within the box. Passing through this shaft is agage rod 8, 8, 8, whose end screws into nut 9 which is firmly screwed toroller 5. 11, 11, is a slotted stop, the upper lip of which is bent soas to stop the lever 12, 12, and gage the distance which it moves. Thebend just above the slot permits the side of the shield 15 to move whenrequired. The lever 12 by means of the spring-catch 13 attached to it,moves the ratchet wheel 14 and with it the hollow shaft, the gage rodand roller. It is also used to press down the lever 21. 15 is a shield,part of which projects at right angles over ratchet 14, adjustable bymeans of slot 16 and screw 17, 17.

' 18, 18, 18 is a rod with revolving bearing 20 and set screws 19 toadjust its position. 25, 26, 27 and 28 are explained under Fig. F. 32shows the end of the roller 5 covered with the sensitive materialadjusted to receive the first print or impression. 46 is a handle bywhich the slide 45 may be moved. 71 and 72 represent a gage and screw onthe rod 8, by which the distance to which the roller is drawn forward orbackward on the hollow shaft may be determined.

75, 75, 75, is the tube and support the lenses 76, 76, attached by screw92 to the bed 4. 81 is a set screw to the ratchet 14 on the hollow shaft6. 86 is a slide with its handle 87 by which the opening 26 may beclosed; 94, 95, wedges to close the slotted space in the tube 2 underthe arm 93. 96 is a knot to red 8. 33 is the condensing lens, which inorder to obtain the proper distance for its adjustment, slides in theupper tube 3, 3, being fixed by the screw 78 which moves up and down inslots in the tubes 2 and 3.

Fig. B shows the arrangement of the tubes 2, 2, and 3, 3, carrying thelens 33, when the impressions are taken by superposition. 4, 4, is thebed carrying the revolving or sliding disk. 35 is a hook and 36 1 a pinby which the tube 2 is attached to box 1.

Fig. G represents an end view of box 1. 6, 6, is the end of the hollowshaft and 12, 12, a lever bearing by spring-catch 13 upon ratchet wheel14, 14. This ratchet wheel has a lip 73 around which lever 12 turns; itis attached to shaft 6 by the set screw 81, Fig. A. 15, 15 is the shieldattached to the end of the box, having a projecting lip 82, to relievethe spring catch 13 from the ratchet 14 when the lever 12 passes over topress against 21. 22 is a slotted spring whose point falling into hole77 in ratchet 14 determines one revolution of the roller. 74 is thehollow space in shaft 6 through which gage rod 8 passes. 91 is a cog, orspace on ratchet 14 gaged to the width of a wedge inserted into roller5, Fig. A, to confine the ends of the sensitive paper. If this isattached by other means, it may not be necessary to use 91.

In Fig. D, 4 is the bed plate having an opening 37 to admit light. Uponthis the circular disk 38 with its openings 39 39 39 revolves around thepin 83. To this pin a spring 84 is attached communicating with the arm40 to which is attached a springcatch 41. 42 42 42 are projections ondisk 38. 43 a rod containing arm 40 and slide 44. 45 another slide withits handle 46, upon which is spring catch 47 intended to seize pin 48 onslide 44. 49 is a stud to relieve catch 47 from pin 48. 50, 50 areguides to confine the motion of slides 44 and 45. 51 an arm to movespring catch 54, hav-' ing its motion determined by slot 52 and pin andwasher 53 and slot 55 and pin 56; and when drawn out, returned to itsplace by spring 57. 58 is the check ratch moving upon pin 59 with spring60 to confine it against projections 42.

In Fig. E, representing the inside of the top of box 1, 18 is the rodrunning through one end of the box and having its bearing in a hollowtube 20, at the other end. This tube is movable in its support 88.Around rod 18 is bent a portion of fiat plate 25 and the two are screwedtogether at 89, so that when lever 21 which is firmly attached to rod 18is pressed by lever 12 the plate moves with it. Upon this plate andcarried by it, is fixed plate 27, slotted and adjusted by screws 30. 26is an opening through the top of box 1 and through plates 25 and 27. 28is the glass negative, when the printing is by superposition and the useof the condenser only as in Fig. B. This negative is held in place bythe springs 29, 29. 31 is a spring bearing upon plate 25 to raise itfrom the roller when the pressure is removed from lever 21. A piece ofcloth sufiicient to prevent the entrance of light into box 1,exceptthrough the apertures in plates 25 and 27, is attached to the topof box 1 and between the edges of plates 25 and 27, so loosely as not tointerfere with the motion of the latter, when pressed down upon roller 5by lever 21 and rod 18. The size of the aperture for the passage oflight can be regulated by a sheet of opaque paper placed between theback of the negative 28 and its support 27 having a perforation of there-- quired size; or the back of the negative itself can be blackened.

Fig. F, represents a straight sliding disk, which may be placed upon thebed and substituted for the circular revolving disk 88. 62 hererepresents bed st. 26 is the opening in it, corresponding to 37 in Fig.C. 71 is a frame attached to bed 62 to keep the sliding disk 98 in itsplace and to serve as guides to its motion. is an opening in disk 98,,towhich spiral springs 65 and 66 are attached, the one communicating withone end of arm (it, the other with the other end. 68, 68, areprojections upon arm (34: to relieve springs (39, 69, from notches 99and 100 in order to release the sliding disk 98. 70 are stop pins andstops to confine the arm in its motion. This disk operates in thefollowing manner. By moving one end of the arm 6st, say the end 79toward the end of the frame 71 the spring 65 is stretched and the spring(36 compressed. Spring catch (37 in notch 99 prevents the disk frommoving until it is relieved by projection 68, when spring (35 pulls ittoward the end of frame 71 under spring 65, while it is prevented fromrebounding by notch 100 being caught by spring catch 70. Thus, opening(33 in disk 98 has passed over opening 26 in bed G2, admitting andslmtting off .the light. The same thing is then repeated in the oppositedirection.

The mode of operating my machine is as follows. I first adjust thesurface of the negative 28 to the planes of roller 5, by pressing lever12 until the two are in close contact. The rest 11 is then brought tolever 12 and screwed tight. I then adjust the shield 15 so that thespring catch 13 of lever 12 will move ratchet 14 a distance sufficientto remove one plane of roller 5 from under the negative and replace itwith the next. This distance being determined is fixed by the positionof rest 11 and nose 82 of shield 15. Such other adjustments of negative,material. &c., as may be necessary will suggest themselves to any oneaccustomed to use photographic instruments. It has already been remarkedthat the box containing the sensitive material must be so made as toexclude light. Suppose we are now about to print or multiply pictures bysuperposition, using the negative 28, and the tubes and condensing lensas in Fig. B. The box 1 is detached from tubes 2 and 3, and carried to adark room. It is opened by bringing lever 12 to stop 11 in order to freethe spring catch 13 from the nose or lip of the shield 15 and thenraising the upper half, hinged, as shown in Fig. C, 21. I then take asheet of paper or other material rendered sensitive by any of the usualphotographic processes. I place this around the roller 5, confining theends by a wedgeshaped slot, springs, or other means. The tubes 2 and 3are then attached to the box 1 and the whole is so placed that the lightof the sun passes directly down the center of the tubes through thecondensing glass 33 which is adjusted at such a distance from thenegative 28, that the ring of the con densed light will cover theportion of the negative to be printed from. The proper bearing of thesensitive material having been fixed as above described, by the lever12, that lever is turned back and pressed against lever 21. Thisslightly turns rod 18 pressing negative 28 down upon and in closecontact with the sensitive material upon the roller. Up to this time nolight has been admitted, the revolving disk 38, Fig. l), effectuallyclosing the only opening, (shown by dotted lines 87, Figs. D and B)through which light could pass. I then take hold of handle it; of slide4-5 and push the slide forward toward the tubes, until its spring catchcloses upon and seizes pin 18 on slide M. Then drawing handle t6 back Idraw out slide 1% and with it the connecting rod 13 giving motion to arm10. This arm turns upon pin 83, and, moving from its stop 61, slidesover disk 38. The spring catch 41 at tached to it passes around the edgeof disk 38 until it has passed one of the projections %2 By this timethe spring catch t? on slide 15 strikes against stop 4-9. The catchmoves back and liberates pin +18 and therefore slide 4% also. The spiralspring 84 at tached to pin 83 then forces the arm 10 back toward 61until its spring catch stops at 42 The handle 46 is drawn still fartherout until it presses upon arm 51 and draws it out also. This movesspring catch 54 and releases catch 58 from the projection 42 The disk 38is now free and the spring 84 acting upon it through the arm 40 and thespring catch 41 forces it to revolve until arm 40 is stopped by 61. Thisremoves the force of spring 84 from the disk but it would still revolveby its momentum, but it is stopped by catch 58 which being liberatedfrom spring catch 54, is drawn by its spiral spring 60, close againstthe edge of disk 38 in time to catch the projection 42 and stop therevolution of the disk. The arm 51 is also drawn back by spring 57 andthe spring-catch 54 again seizes catch 58. This portion of the apparatusis then ready for a repetition of the movement just described, the wholeof which, in practice, may occupy less than a second. It will be seenthat the result of this has been that one of the openings 39 in the disk38, has passed rapidly over the aperture in the bed 4 shown by dottedlines 37 and the light has been admitted to the negative below and shutoff again by a movement which may be made almost instantaneous and yetuniform in its duration over the exposed surface, commencing andshutting off on one side of the aperture precisely as it commences andshuts off on the other. By the passage of the disk just described andthe admission of the light the sensitive material receives theimpression of the negative and we are prepared to print another picture.I move the lever 12 forward releasing it from lever 21; the pressurebeing thus removed the nega tive is raised by the spring 31, and theroller is free to move. Continuing to move the lever 12 forward, thespring-catch 13 sliding from the nose 82 of shield 15, falls into theratchet wheel 14, and turns it and with it roller 5 and the sensitivematerial until the lever 12 is checked by stop 11. By this means thenext unprinted plane of the sensitive material is brought under thenegative to receive its impression. Lever 12 is moved back to lever 21,pressed against it and the operation of admit-ting light repeated asabove described, until the roller 5 has made one revolution. This isascertained by the spring 22 falling into its hole on ratchet wheel 14.The roller 5 is then drawn along the shaft 6, the distance required, bymeans of gage rod 8 which is marked with a suitable scale The gage 71 isthen set by the screw 7 2 at the proper point on rod 8 so that it may bepressed against the end of hollow shaft 6. hen the whole or requiredportion of the surface of the sensitive material has receivedimpressions, the aperture 26 is closed by slide 86 and its handle 87thus excluding the light. Box 1 is detached as before, removed to thedark room and the paper being taken off the pictures are developed byany of the usual means known and practiced by the trade.

Where the process is slower the sliding disk may be-managed by handwithout the catches and springs I have described, and practice mightenable the operator to work the machine in this way with considerablerapidity and accuracy. Neither is it necessary that the light thrownupon the negative should be merely that formed by the converging rays ofthe condenser. The negative 28 may be removed and placed as in 34, Fig.A, and the daguerreotype tube 7 57 5 with its lenses 7 6, 7 6 used, soas, by adjustment, to make a picture either larger or smaller or of thesame size as the negative, the lever 21 and the plates 25 and 27 beingstill pressed down as before to steady and smooth the sensitive materialor the negative being at 28 and the condenser in use as in Fig. B, thelatter may be raised so as to print by rays of light diverging afterthey have passed their focus which may be in the aperture 37, and thebed 4 may be placed in any convenient position for this purpose. It isnot necessary to have a separate roller for every size of picture as thelength of one picture will frequently be the width of a larger size. Theratchet 14 if the teeth are not too coarse may be so adjusted as toanswer for different sizes of pictures. Thus if the slotted shield withnose 82 be moved so that the spring-catch of lever 12 shall fall intoevery second, third or fourth tooth, a portion of the rollerproportionably great will be moved at each movement of the lever.

In order to work this instrument by sunlight most effectively andcontinuously, it should be so placed as always to keep the lightdirectly over aperture 26. The best way of doing this is to use aheliostat so placed that its axis of motion points to the pole, and byits equatorial motion the hand can with case so follow with theinstrument the suns apparent motion as to keep the sunlight constantlyover aperture 26. For the purpose of illustration I have taken thephotographic impression upon paper, but I do not confine myself to anyparticular kind of sensitive material or any particular proc ess ofdevelopment that can be made available upon my machine. Neither do Iconfine myself to the use of a roller, for when glass or daguerreotypeplates or other nonyielding substances are used as sensitive ma terials,a roller can not be used. But they may be used by attaching them to astraight or plane sliding surface carried by another sliding disk, thetwo having motions at ri ht angles to each other, and thus permittingevery part of the sensitive material to traverse the aperture. This wasmy original idea, but as it was necessary to use a shield to keep thematerial from the light of four times the area of the material itself,and this with the slides was large and cumbersome, I have adopted thedark box with its roller as occupying less space and requiring less timeand labor for adjustment; nor, again, do I confine myself to the use ofthe circular revolving disk. This may be worked by a reciprocatingmotion or it may be a straight sliding disk as I have described and asthe larger size of pictures may probably require.

Having thus fully described my apparatus, what I claim therein as newand desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The above described machine for printing or multiplying photographicpictures.

2. The above described art of multiplying positive photographic picturesor impressions from the same negative upon the same sheet of sensitivepaper or other material.

3. Causing the sensitive material used for the reception of photographicimpressions, latent or otherwise, made by the agency of solar or otherlight passing through a negative, to traverse the aperture or negativeemployed.

4. The traversing bed, whether cylindrical or plane, confined within adark chamber, whose surface may be moved by ratchet-s, screws, cranksorv their equivalents, for the purpose of carrying the sensitivematerial, when the same is used in connection with a negative from whichit receives positive impressions, substantially as described.

5. The employment of continuous sliding or revolving disks, (withsprings and spring stops, or their equivalents, to. give them a uniformmotion and overcome the momentum or rebound), for admitting and shuttingoff light uniformly to and from all parts of the surface to be actedupon, 1n printing positive photographic pictures from a negative,substantially as described.

6. The application of a lens or lenses for the purpose of condensinglight when used in combination with negative 28, the sensitive materialand slide or cut ofi for admitting and shutting off light for thepurpose of photographic printing.

7. The combination of condensing lens 33, negative 34f, daguerreotypetube 7 5, with its lenses 7 6, the sensitive material and slide or cutoff for photographic printing substantially as described.

8. The combination of the sensitive material negative 28 (asdistinguished from negative 34) and slide or cut off for the purpose ofphotographic printing.

9. The method of raising the glass negative or other matrix 28 from thesensitive material to permit the motion of the latter, and the method oflowering it again, substantially as described.

10. The method of supporting and adj usting negative 28 substantially asdescribed.

11. The use of the glass negative (when negative 28 is used) or the useof a piece of plain glass in the place of it, (when negative s4 isused), or the use of a skeleton frame for the purpose of pressing thesensitive material smoothly and evenly on roller 5 or the traversingbed, while the photographic impression is being made.

12. The alternate admission and exclusion of light passing through anegative to act upon a traversing sensitive material confined in aportable dark chamber, substantially as described.

13. The rod 8 working through hollow slotted shaft 6 and afiixed toroller 5 by plate 9 for the purpose described.

14. The combination of the lever 12', with its spring catch 18, with theratchet wheel 1%, nose S2 of shield 15 and slotted stop 11,substantially as and for the purposes described.

CHAS. FONTAYNE.

Witnesses:

SAML. S. FISHER, W. M. LEE.

